For Buddhists, suffering is part of
life but humans must avoid inflicting
suffering on others, including animals,
as this will harm one’s own Karma,
which in this culture means the energy
that dictates your future, whether in
this life or the next. In other words, wrong behaviour will be
paid for in a future life, so heartless acts to animals should be
avoided.

The doctrine of right livelihood teaches Buddhists
to avoid any work connected with causing the suffering
of animals. Buddhists are instructed to treat the lives of
human and non-human animals with equal respect because
all animals have the possibility to become enlightened,
although it is harder for animals as they have limited
capacity for self-improvement.

So they will continue to be reborn as animals until their
bad Karma is exhausted. A human soul may be reborn as
human or animal, depending on the life they led before
death. But only when they are finally reborn as humans—
something over which they have limited control based
on the good deeds they did during life—can they take
purposeful action and resume the quest for enlightenment
and nirvana. Yet, Buddhist scientists working in medical
research must endure the bad Karma and work it off
in future lives. Therefore, for some the fear remains that
should a human be reborn as an animal, the time to
enlightenment could be eternal.

Confucianism

Confucianism is a rigid code of
ethical conduct that has significantly
shaped Chinese culture. There are
few Confucian statements that suggest
humans have a moral responsibility
to other animals and little to suggest
views on using animals for research.

Traditional Chinese scientists face the
opposite problem to their counterparts in the other East
Asian religions. There are very few rules, and appeal to
religious objection shows up a weak foundation.

Nonetheless, traditional Chinese religions, Confucian
and Dao, and the consequential culture aim to find
harmony in order to resolve conflict which helps in
harmonisation efforts because animal care matching best
practice becomes a matter of saving face.

Hinduism

Hinduism, along with Islam, has been the major influence
in the development of the culture of
the sub-continent. Understanding the
Hindu views on the place of animals in
a human’s world is important because,
among other things, the Indian pharm-

aceutical industry is the third largest in the world.

Hindus live an unending cycle of lives. They say that the
present is determined by the past and the consequence of
action follows an individual in the next incarnation. The
Hindu doctrine of ahimsa, non-injury, which reiterates in
the Indian religions of Jainism, Hinduism and Buddhism,
is the ethical principle of not causing harm to other
living things. Yet, the inconsistency here is profound and
consequential. Where does that leave a Hindu scientist
who pursues biomedical research?

Islam

Within Asia the culture of Islam predominates in some of the fastest growing
economies of the region including
Malaysia and Indonesia and also such rising
biotechnology and research centres of the
Middle East. Islam teaches that all living
creatures are Allah’s creation and He loves
all.Animals must be treated with kindness and compassion;
Muslims are instructed to avoid treating animals inhumanely,
overworking or neglecting them, hunting for sport, factory
farming or harming an animal’s face.

However the Qur’an explicitly states that animals
exist for the benefit of human beings and may be used
for human benefit; that Allah condones human use of
animals to satisfy their needs. Muslims are urged to
achieve perfection in their worship of Allah and this
requires them to be socially responsible because of their
religious convictions (ihsan). Part of their attempt for
ihsan is their humane treatment of animals. Understanding
Islamic concept assists harmonisation efforts because best
practices of animal care can easily be re-interpreted within
the scope of Islamic law, practices and traditions.

TOWARD COMMON PURPOSE

We believe it is possible to find common purpose
across difference no matter the mix of cultures, though
often it takes hard work, dedication, personal sacrifice
and compromise. Biomedical scientists around the
globe have embraced this difficult task in the interests
of harmonisation of standards, convergence toward
international best practice and the welfare of the animals
in their care. We encourage all in our profession to
keep the dialogue open, to embrace the differences and
continue to help one another move ahead.

This article is the first in a series on Challenges to
Global Harmonisation. The second article addresses
progress toward harmonisation among Asian and East
Asian nations and the significant role played by global
agencies such as the World Organisation for Animal
Health (OIE) and the Association for Assessment and
Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care (AAALAC).